back from hiatus

[InmanRoshi]

Its amazing to me that guys think this is strictly a Parcells personality quirk or phenomenon. Why hasn't Mike Martz gotten some interviews yet? Go to rotoworld.com Look at the assistant coaching hires around the league today. Gary Kubiak just hired Coach Troy Calhoun to be his QB Coach and OC in Houston. Yes, THE Troy Calhoun. Did he hire THE Troy Calhoun because he had the most impressive NFL resume available on the market? Or did he do it because they both coached at Denver and shared the same offensive background and philosophy. Look at the guys Belichick hired to replace Mangini, Crennel and Weis. A bunch of no name kids. I guess Belichick really doesn't care about assistant coaches either. And for that matter, why did Belichick insist on loading his staff with only former Parcells assistant coaches like Crennel and Weis and Pepper Johnson when he took the New England job in the first place? Why didn't he go out and sign the guys with the most lengthy NFL resumes, regardless of the philosophy fit or background?

You think just adding the biggest name mercenary coach available automatically makes the team better? Remember when Danny Snyder went out and paid Marv Lewis a ton of cash to be the Commanders DC for Spurrier? His defenses stunk in Washington. Stunk outloud. Clancy Pendergrast ran a better defense in Washington. Marv Lewis was never on the same page as Spurrier, and there was obvious split among the coaching staff and it lead to disarray. The Ravens haven't exactly been shredding up NFL defenses since they brought on Jim Fassel to be their "offensive consultant". There are a gazzillion other examples.

 

[superpunk]

Maybe Parcells is the one who needs to change and accept that there are young coaches out there who do know what they're doing, even if you don't have a background with them.

You mean like Mike Zimmer, and Sean Payton? Guys Parcells pursued or retained for his staff?

Seriously, who the hell was Eric Mangini before this year? Now he's a head coach, because he ran BB's system for a year, and learnt under Crennel. Quick, name me the Patriots OC........

The best way to build an organization, in any function of life and business, is to promote from within. Promote people who already know what's going on, are comfortable with their coworkers, and have their coworkers respect. It provides continuity, and allows for more progress to be made, since you're not constantly reinventing the wheel. Coaching an NFL team isn't that different from running a business. While going outside the organization and getting some big name to give your fan base a boner over might sound nice, the constant change and shifting generally does nothing for progress.

I'll take continuity leading to better execution over a "sexy" name any day.

 

[ShiningStar]

I was so discouraged after the way 2005 ended I didnt want to post anymore until around draft time, but with the senior bowl coming up and all the other stuff going on, I had to get back on...

1) I still cant believe this team didnt make the playoffs...some want to blame a kicker, some blame injuries and some blame it on young players...but the two teams playing in the super bowl next week have both overcome injuries and youth and they seem ok...I guess its fine to try to spin it that way, but I suspect after the 2006 season most everyone will see why things are the way they are here

2) they didnt call Norv Turner...they didnt call Al Saunders (and stood by twiddling thumbs as he went to our biggest rival)...now today, the guy they apparently DID want gets on a plane and signs a deal with the New Orleans Saints...I'm doubting very seriously that cheapo owner Tom Benson made Palmer an offer (ie, $$$) he couldnt refuse......

3) as a continuation of that, while I am sure this will be an unpopular opinion with most, its apparent to me that Parcells just doesnt want really GOOD coaches on this staff...I am absolutely convinced he wants a mediocre staff, so in the case that we do win he can stroke his obviously out of control ego even more and say "SEE!!! I can win with anybody, I dont need guys like Belechick, Weis, Crennel, Erhardt, Groh etc etc"...Sporano was a bad OL coach, and now he might be the offensive coordinator? there were 8 or 9 openings this yr, yet only one team interviewed Zimmer (and reportedly were VERY underwhelmed, to the point that they didnt even bother to call him back)...nobody else wanted this guy, and this doesnt count the openings in college football either...even the coordinator of a team (Niners) with the worst offense in football the past two years got a head coaching job ahead of Zimmer...David Lee??? Paul Pasqulaoni?? Kacy Rodgers??? Todd Haley?? Mike Macintyre?...we had undoubtedly the best coaching staff in the league from the early to mid 90's, now we've done a complete 180 and have the worst staff in football...most of the guys on this staff wouldnt (and wont once the HC here is gone) get jobs in the NFL anywhere else

4) while I am not high on Tucker and Petitti, the fact that they both played extensively and didnt show one shred of improvement as the yr wore on is an even further indictment of how poor a job Tony Sporano did...we're not the first team in league history to start a late rd pick at one OL spot, but the horrendous play of the two tackles really crippled the offense...good OL coaches can take below average to average guys and at least make them servicable if they get enough PT...these guys were total train wrecks, and to those that still want to say "well he was only a 6th rd pick" I ask you this- which should be the potential BIGGER handicap for a team, a 6th rd pick starting at Right Tackle or a 4th rd pick starting at QUARTERBACK? (and by the way, the team that started the 4th rd pick at QB had an 8 game winning streak with him as a starter and ended up with a 1st rd bye in the playoffs)

5) if I were running things at VR I'd have replaced both coordinators and the OL coach with quality people and even w/o making any other improvements personnel wise I bet we'd win at least 10 or 11 games next yr...since that didnt happen we now have to hope to overcome bad coaching with finding exceptional talent...getting Adams back improves one tackle spot, so we need another one (no, I dont believe Tucker or Petitti is a legit NFL starter)...I think upgrading at C is a priority as well...defensively they need another playmaking OLB, a real prospect at NT and a FS...I'd look at WR at some point early in the draft as well, as counting on 30-somethings Keyshawn and Glenn to be both injury free and productive again for 16 games next yr is probably wishful, thinking...finally we arrive at kicker, for the life of me I cant understand why they did nothing at kicker last offseason...Cundiff was never better than average in the first place, not bringing in legit competition for him was foolish and ended up causing problems during the season...Parcells knew he wanted to play this "ugly ball" style, so having a good (not an average or mediocre) kicker should have been a priority

6) why is it in three seasons now, none of our teams has been better as the year progressed?

7) I hate the Commanders, but no matter how much you hate them you have to admit that Joe Gibbs and Greg Williams did an awesome job of coaching that team this yr..and to think that they've now added arguably the best offensive coordinator in the NFL, just imagine how good they might could be if Al Saunders is as big a difference maker for the offense as Greg Williams has been with the defense...with the so-so talent and numerous injuries that team had, they had no business making the playoffs AND winning a road playoff game, yet they did...thats called good coaching

8) I'm guessing despite Jerry Jones' comments, Glovers gets cut before free agency begins and Ellis will be paid his bonus, then traded...if he is traded, I hope we get something decent in return (and by decent, at least a 2nd rd pick or a quality starter at a position of need)

9) I have no idea what players we'll sign or draft, but I cant help but think that OLB Bobby Carpenter will end up a Cowboy on draft day...not only is he a good player and a tough guy, but Parcells coached his dad when they were with the Giants

10) hey, guess what former Cowboy quarterback still doesnt have an NFL job? (I just had to throw that in there for a certain special little poster who's username sounds like the guy I referring to)

David

Ahhhhh..the grass is always greener on teh other side. Had Parcells did this and Parcells done that you'd be all over it. Had we gone into the playoffs the first game to get creamed..youd be happy, but maybe our rookies wouldnt be so hot come next time around.....

I dont remember the Cowboys promising you the playoffs? do you have a link for that. Yes we're playing to win..but if your not going to make a splash in the playoffs is it worth going for hte first round? Maybe Parcells didnt think the offense was up to par. Figuring he put 1 year into the D and possibly this year into the offense.

What if Parcells wins it all this year...is he back to being a football genius, check his history, he took The Gmen to the big dance in his 4th year there and i believe the pats as well....if he does it again in dallas in his 4th year hes a football guru in my book and the haters will be singing his praise the loudest.....

he inherited crap for a team and went 10-6, now hes putting in his team and it looks a hell of a foundation....maybe hes building from the bottom up...yeah he made some mistakes last year...tell me a coach that hasnt...

if he doesnt get it together by the end of the next season im sure he''ll walk. and if saunders is so good how many chiefs were solid for the pro bowl? how did it help them to get to the playoffs? do you think the Skins are going to better off with him just like that?

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Remember when Danny Snyder went out and paid Marv Lewis a ton of cash to be the Commanders DC for Spurrier? His defenses stunk in Washington. Stunk outloud. Clancy Pendergrast ran a better defense in Washington. Marv Lewis was never on the same page as Spurrier, and there was obvious split among the coaching staff and it lead to disarray. The Ravens haven't exactly been shredding up NFL defenses since they brought on Jim Fassel to be their "offensive consultant". There are a gazzillion other examples.

Really? I think you need to look at the improvement during the 1 year that Marvin Lewis was the DC.

Lewis left because he was not happy being the DC who was better qualified to be the HC.

I am sure Lewis stunk it up in Washington and was an top candidate for a HC position.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

The best way to build an organization, in any function of life and business, is to promote from within. Promote people who already know what's going on, are comfortable with their coworkers, and have their coworkers respect. It provides continuity, and allows for more progress to be made, since you're not constantly reinventing the wheel. Coaching an NFL team isn't that different from running a business. While going outside the organization and getting some big name to give your fan base a boner over might sound nice, the constant change and shifting generally does nothing for progress.

I'll take continuity leading to better execution over a "sexy" name any day.

Okay then, here are two names to think about:

Campo... Parcells.

 

[DipChit]

That 10-6 season set us back. It gave Parcells a false sense of talent on his team. I absolutely hate that fact that Parcells will not play the young quarterbackins in meaningless games. Not seeing Henson or Romo agianst St. Louis really ticked me off. I wish we had a young head coach like Saban who is willing to go through growing pains to get better.

I agree that it set us back but not necessarily just because of a false sense.

And I dont necessarily disagree about the theory of being willing to go through growing pains to get better but if Jones wanted to do it that way he should've never hired Parcells to begin with. Course you could say that by Parcells going with QC and T-Ham instead of inking say Delhomme and Davis that was supposed to be growing pains cause it sure was "painful" to watch. 10 wins or no 10 wins.

Had we only won 3 games his first year (god only knows why it didnt actually shake down about that way considering the roster..that luck thing I guess) we'd *all* presumably be feeling pretty good right now in general because our record would have shown improvement each and every year while the roster was getting better to boot.

Its just hard to tank seasons in this day and age when most teams can figure they got a shot going into any given year. Not to mention theres no guarantee by doing it, it'll pay off anyway. You can only look at it that way in hindsight where if you dont win it all or come darn close you might just as well went 2-14 instead of 14-2 so as to improve your draft position.

 

[superpunk]

Okay then, here are two names to think about:

Campo... Parcells.

OK.....so you're comparing Campo's lap-dog tenure, during which we continuously went 5-11, showed no semblence of competence, failed to accumulate any talent, and general overall suckiness to.....Parcells tenure, where we've had 2 out of 3 winning seasons, built a solid foundation for the future, with wuite a few budding young stars? Yeah, ok.....

When a team fails as miserably as the Cowboys under Campo, a change is obviously needed. This team isn't failing under Parcells. His system works, the execution is faulty. That won't be fixed by bringing in new amazing name coaches. That will be fixed by offseason, practice, and continuity.

And yes, continuity IS my new buzzword.

 

[InmanRoshi]

8) I'm guessing despite Jerry Jones' comments, Glovers gets cut before free agency begins and Ellis will be paid his bonus, then traded...if he is traded, I hope we get something decent in return (and by decent, at least a 2nd rd pick or a quality starter at a position of need)

Uhm, why would you trade someone after you've paid him a roster bonus?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

OK.....so you're comparing Campo's lap-dog tenure, during which we continuously went 5-11, showed no semblence of competence, failed to accumulate any talent, and general overall suckiness to.....Parcells tenure, where we've had 2 out of 3 winning seasons, built a solid foundation for the future, with wuite a few budding young stars? Yeah, ok.....

You were the one saying that bringing in coaches from the outside wasn't as good as promoting from within...

And no one is asking for someone to come in and turn the organization upside down or overthrow Parcells. It's still his team, and he's going to run it as long as he's here. But he can't do it all himself; no head coach can. He needs help, and hopefully the best help he can possibly get. If that's someone from within, great. If that's someone from another team, go get them. That's all we're saying.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Really? I think you need to look at the improvement during the 1 year that Marvin Lewis was the DC.

Lewis left because he was not happy being the DC who was better qualified to be the HC.

I am sure Lewis stunk it up in Washington and was an top candidate for a HC position.

The Commanders were a respectable 13th in the NFL in defensive points allowed in Shotty's final year in 2001. They fell to 21st under Lewis in 2002.

Lewis got the HC job based on his past history with the Ravens. They overlooked his failure with the Commanders. I hardly doubt putting up the 21st best defense in the league with the Commanders is what convinced NFL Execs he was ready to be a head coach.

 

[david_jackson]

"continuity IS my new buzzword" I like it. Continuity is not everything but it is undervalued by many.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

How long has Fox had Carolina? Vs how long has BP been here. What shape was carolina before Fox got there? How much talent did they have?
remember last year- they got a bunch of injuries and it killed their season- sound familiar?

He has been there 4 years went to the SB his second after going 1-15 his first year so yeah they were in pretty bad shape when he got there. Last year they were the hottest team in the NFL going down the stretch and they had some injuries this year also they lost Jenkins and Davis for the whole year. The more I think about it Fox has hands down done a much better job than Parcells.

 

[superpunk]

You were the one saying that bringing in coaches from the outside wasn't as good as promoting from within...

And we were talking about assistant coaches, so.......

And no one is asking for someone to come in and turn the organization upside down or overthrow Parcells. It's still his team, and he's going to run it as long as he's here. But he can't do it all himself; no head coach can. He needs help, and hopefully the best help he can possibly get. If that's someone from within, great. If that's someone from another team, go get them. That's all we're saying.

That's not all people are saying. People are saying how envious they are of the Commanders (which, quite frankly, makes me vomit), and how brilliant of an owner Daniel Snyder is, despite not seeing the product the Skins are actually going to put on the field this year. They're claiming that it is Parcells arrogance and ego that is keeping him from hiring a coach, and dismissing the possibility that the guy for the job could already be on the team, or maybe Parcells just hasn't found him yet. They assume that no coach would want to work under Parcells, even though the evidence against that point is overwhelming.

In short, it's a bunch of knee-jerk reactions by impatient fans who are jealous of the Skins and despise Parcells. And as I mentioned before, this makes me...


:ralph:

 

[superpunk]

"continuity IS my new buzzword" I like it. Continuity is not everything but it is undervalued by many.

Join the "continuity" bandwagon. There's plenty of room.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

And we were talking about assistant coaches, so.......



That's not all people are saying. People are saying how envious they are of the Commanders (which, quite frankly, makes me vomit), and how brilliant of an owner Daniel Snyder is, despite not seeing the product the Skins are actually going to put on the field this year. They're claiming that it is Parcells arrogance and ego that is keeping him from hiring a coach, and dismissing the possibility that the guy for the job could already be on the team, or maybe Parcells just hasn't found him yet. They assume that no coach would want to work under Parcells, even though the evidence against that point is overwhelming.

In short, it's a bunch of knee-jerk reactions by impatient fans who are jealous of the Skins and despise Parcells. And as I mentioned before, this makes me...


:ralph:

What is this overwhelming evidence you speak of since he has been with the cowboys the only ones I can think of are the two todds and payton. Payton was not a hot prospect and neither were the Todds.

 

[CoCo]

In the debate about 'name' assistants vs 'promote from within or familiarity' there is simply isn't an absolute rule or even close to it. There have already been some great examples given on the 'no name' side and I am sure there are some equally great examples on the 'name' side. What does that tell you? There is more than one way to skin a cat!

Parcells has chosen the style & mix of styles he prefers and being criticized for it. He could flip philosophies and be criticized for that too. One is no more defensible than the other. It doesn't prove anything.

 

[InmanRoshi]

In the debate about 'name' assistants vs 'promote from within or familiarity' there is simply isn't an absolute rule or even close to it. There have already been some great examples given on the 'no name' side and I am sure there are some equally great examples on the 'name' side. What does that tell you? There is more than one way to skin a cat!

Parcells has chosen the style & mix of styles he prefers and being criticized for it. He could flip philosophies and be criticized for that too. One is no more defensible than the other. It doesn't prove anything.

Exactly.

George Warhop was regarded as the top up and coming offensive line coach in the NFL when Parcells brought him in (without ever having worked with him before).

That worked out beautifully.

 

[wileedog]

Nice balance in your opinions.

The only point I would like to make is this...

Just as in every profession, there's a time to call it quits. We are all evaluated on what we do today.

Now, I'm not suggesting that it's time for Parcells to call it quits...but I do know, this isn't the coach I saw in NY all those years.

Analogy. I am a huge music fan. I idolized Paul McCartney. With the Beatles he wrote some amazing music....with Wings, he wrote some good music....in the past ten years, most of his music is, quite honestly, lousy.

It doesn't change that he was a great songwriter....and I don't consider myself fickle or NOT a McCartney fan simply because in my opinion, his efforts in recent years have simply been at best, mediocre.

The difference is in the music field you need to keep coming up with new material constantly. Simply rehashing "Let it Be" 300 times with some slight key or beat changes doesn't really cut it for long - for the artist or the fans. WIth a few exceptions just about everyone who has ever had any success in the music business eventually just runs out of new ideas.

In football Parcells has a formula that generally works. He doesn't need to reinvent the wheel every time he takes over a new team (or starts a new band, as it were).

Sure the players change, the league changes, the rules change and the expectations change. But the philosophies that Bill uses to win football games are still proven, as evidence by how many teams and coaches out there still swear by them.

I'm not saying that you are completely wrong about Parcells. Certainly you have brought up good points before that perhaps a game plan that relies more on an extremely high level of execution is tougher to implement in this day and age when there is little year-over-year continuity on teams and the cap demands that youth constantly find its way on the field - often times before it is ready.

But none of that equates to this silly "ego" argument that people keep spouting, from coaches to quarterbacks.

 

[superpunk]

What is this overwhelming evidence you speak of since he has been with the cowboys the only ones I can think of are the two todds and payton. Payton was not a hot prospect and neither were the Todds.

Here's the evidence.

Become a Parcells disciple, get head coaching looks. It's that simple.

 

[JIGGYFLY]

Here's the evidence.

Become a Parcells disciple, get head coaching looks. It's that simple.

Ok it may that simple to you but its not that simple to me if you said that about Bellicheck I would agree. Lets be real Parcells is currently living off reputation and next year is make or break can he do it maybe, maybe not but to me 27-25 is underwhelming even more so when you look at what Fox has done in Carolina over pretty much the same timespan with the same talent level.